Chapter 56

As the sun gradually rose, the lamps in the hall were extinguished, and the atmosphere inside became somewhat oppressive, though not to the point of causing despair.

The clerks served with utmost respect, silently praying for a quick end. The seven days of reviewing the examination papers were truly exhausting. If it weren't for their cultivation of Daoist techniques, which kept their bodies strong, some might not have been able to endure it.

"Currently, the workload is heavy, but as long as the follow-up is handled properly... However, with the Yu family's task, there will be some deductions. I hope there won't be any more mishaps later!" Yang Cai thought, speeding up his work.

Fortunately, only a few scrolls were slightly controversial, with some changes in the rankings around the 60th place, which was within the allowed range.

Yang Cai picked up a scroll, glanced at it, and set it aside.

Looking at the next scroll, Yang Cai's expression was uncertain as he picked it up and read: "Ye Qing..."

The first scroll was neatly written, with answers almost identical to the standard questions. Even if he wanted to deduct points, he couldn't find many faults.

Flipping to the next scroll, even without activating the literary qi, Yang Cai, as a juren (advanced scholar), still had basic appraisal skills. Seeing the exquisite writing and the seven neatly arranged essays, though not the first time he saw such work, his face still changed, and he inwardly sighed: "The so-called 'same juren' mentioned earlier, I thought it was just private talk among scholars, a joke in the official circles, but it turns out there really are people of such talent."

"In the ox-plowing test, despite the interference and the rush, he could still write these seven essays, with complete spirit and clear reasoning. It's truly incredible."

"I wouldn't dare to tamper with such an essay." Thinking of this, Yang Cai felt a bit regretful: "How could I have offended such a person?"

As for replacing, modifying, or defaming, Yang Cai didn't even consider it. After the exam, there was the Daoist mirror to observe and the ghostly patrols to record. Such methods were the easiest to expose. Those who dared to do such things would have been eliminated long ago, their families ruined.

No matter how much Yang Cai thought about it, he didn't dare to tamper with the essays in this way.

"According to the court system, the one with the first literary qi will be admitted no matter what, even if they are ranked last. As for the others, there are no guarantees."

"Ye Qing's essay is so good that I can only hope he is not the first in literary qi. Then, I can use the disparity in fortune to dismiss him. The Ye family's fortune is not significant, and I don't know how much the Dragon Lord has bestowed." Yang Cai thought, the sixty scrolls were basically determined, and Ye Qing was among the top.

However, there was still one more round of selection, and Yang Cai didn't know that someone had already suppressed Ye Qing's fortune. He had no confidence.

"I entered the Yu family without any significant contributions. As long as he is not the first in literary qi and his fortune is outside the top thirty, I can dismiss him with a clear conscience. Even if someone questions this scroll, as long as I follow the rules, there won't be any problems. Such things are common in the official circles."

"Without solid evidence, who would handle a regular official based on mere words? If such a precedent is set, who wouldn't fear being targeted by villains in the future?"

It would also damage the dignity of scholars, the court, and the Daoist sects. Even transcendent immortals would have to respect these rules.

"However, the first three scrolls, Yu Fan, the third son of the Yu family, and Zhang Minzhi, a well-known talent in the county, have essays that are impeccable. Though Ye Qing despises them, he can't deny that, from my perspective, I can't distinguish their levels."

"It seems that only when the literary qi is activated can we determine who is the first!" Yang Cai sighed, stopped thinking, and continued his work.

The examiners reviewed the papers seriously, occasionally comparing the selected papers with the already determined ones to decide whether to discard or insert them. Seeing that the selection was nearing its end, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

As the sun rose higher, the sixty scrolls were basically selected, and the chief examiner, who had been on edge, finally relaxed. He took another round of inspection and then smiled as he returned to his seat.

The chief examiner, a juren from the state, was named Fan Shan. He was deep in thought when Lan Chongwen approached and asked, "Sir Fan, what are you thinking about?"

"Oh, I'm thinking about the papers. I've reviewed the top sixty, and they are all outstanding talents. I remember that the level in previous years was not this high."

"I will review the top hundred again to ensure no talent is overlooked."

Lan Chongwen smiled in agreement, "Indeed, the level of this year's batch is higher than in previous years. However, the number of slots is limited. It's hard to avoid overlooking talent with just these sixty scrolls."

"The court system is like this. We have conducted a fair selection according to the rules, and we are not ashamed before the Heavenly Court, the court, and the scholarly community!"

As he spoke, Lan Chongwen stood up, took a stack of exam papers, and browsed them, smiling, "Look at these essays by Yu Fan, Zhang Minzhi, and Ye Qing. They made me break a sweat. I wouldn't dare to privately evaluate such essays!"

Fan Shan stood up and took a few steps, sighing, "That's why I said the level of this year's batch is higher than in previous years. These three essays are at the level of a regular juren. This is just the ox-plowing test. If it were the state exam with only three essays, they might perform even better, and reaching the level of a juren is not impossible."

Just as Lan Chongwen was about to speak, a clerk bowed, "Sir, the sixty scrolls have been finally determined."

The two of them were startled and saw the sixty scrolls neatly placed on the table. They stood up and briefly reviewed the papers to make the final confirmation.

This major exam was to select thirty people from two thousand, and those who succeeded would become juren, immediately receiving a rank bestowed by the court. If they failed, they would have to wait for the next session, consuming their fortune.

After reviewing, the two exchanged glances and said, "Please invite the Daoist to the scene to activate the literary qi!"

At this, the hall door lit up, and the supervising Daoist entered. Everyone bowed, "We welcome the supervising Daoist to the hall!"

After the formalities, Fan Shan said, "Daoist, we will now activate the literary qi. It's better to release the results of these students as soon as possible!"

The supervising Daoist nodded, stood up, and waved his sleeve at the silver seal.

In the next moment, the literary qi, which had been suppressed, could no longer be contained. From the eight hundred scrolls, thin white qi emerged, gradually becoming denser and then differentiating into red.

However, after reaching red, most stopped evolving, while some continued to evolve into yellow. Seeing this, the six examiners breathed a sigh of relief.

The supervising Daoist observed and found that all the golden-yellow qi was within the sixty scrolls. He then took a scroll and marked it as "Good"!

The six examiners all smiled and signed their names to acknowledge it. At this point, the responsibility of the six examiners was essentially over.

After signing, the literary qi evolved to its final stage. Five scrolls emitted a faint green qi, two of which stopped, while the other three continued to evolve, turning into a third green.

"Truly outstanding talents, hard to distinguish, but we must make a distinction." Fan Shan sighed, and the examiners gathered to examine the light.

Yang Cai's heart was pounding. If Ye Qing was determined to be first, no one could dismiss him.

However, after a moment, the subtle differences were determined. Fan Shan said, "Yu Fan is first, Ye Qing is second, and Zhang Minzhi is third. Do you have any objections?"

"No objections!" the officials replied.

Yang Cai's heart settled, feeling secretly pleased. In reality, the difference was only slight. If he hadn't sent someone to tamper with things in secret, Ye Qing might have been first.

"The rankings are set. Now, we will lift the suppression of the silver seal. You can start arranging them." The supervising Daoist waved his hand and retrieved the silver seal.

The exam papers emitted a brilliant light, and all the suppression and seals were lifted.

Streams of fortune rose to the sky, shining brightly. However, the Daoist observed that most were red, some were pure yellow, and a few were a mix of red and yellow.

Seeing this, the Daoist couldn't help but sigh. Red indicated the fortune of a xiucai (scholar), while red and yellow indicated insufficient fortune. However, pure yellow indicated the true fortune of a juren.

At this moment, the fortune and literary qi supported each other, and the rankings changed rapidly. Ye Qing's fortune didn't increase much, and he fell from second place, quickly dropping out of the top twenty.

At the twentieth place, the decline slowed but continued, and the examiners exchanged glances, stunned.

It was rare to see a second-place literary qi fall out of the top thirty.

At the Lu residence,

In the morning, the sun was bright. Lu Shangjing came out and saw that the walls of the small courtyard had been repaired and the roofs of the houses had been renewed. He was secretly satisfied.

A moment later, Lady Lu Cao came out, wearing a new dress, her expression somewhat somber but not overly sad. She held a bag and carefully fastened the last button on Lu Shangjing's coat.

The two were silent, and no one spoke. After a moment, Lady Lu Cao broke the silence, "Husband, I have bought seven mu and three tenths of land, which is now connected to our original two mu and seven tenths, making ten mu of paddy fields. I have also hired clan members to farm it, which will be enough for our family's expenses. Don't worry."

"Also, since we have received help from a noble person, you should put in some effort. I know you have a grand ambition and always seek a wise master, but even a drop of water should be repaid with a spring. We shouldn't let others talk about us."

"Moreover, if you don't show your abilities, who will know your talent? Continuing to hide it is not a good thing." Lady Lu Cao said this, pursed her lips, and stopped.

Lu Shangjing was shaken and fell into a daze.

Truly, his wife had hit the nail on the head, speaking to the depths of his heart.

Though Lu Shangjing was poor, he always had a sense of pride that was hard to define. Reflecting on it, the change in the Ding family's attitude was indeed due to their opportunism, but it was also influenced by his own pride—had he, perhaps unconsciously, looked down on the Ding family and not put his heart into the work?

Not showing his abilities and blaming others for not recognizing him, many things were his own responsibility. Thinking of this, Lu Shangjing felt ashamed. Seeing him dazed, Lady Lu Cao regretted her words and quickly said, "Husband, my words as a woman are not important. Don't take them to heart."

Hearing this, Lu Shangjing snapped back to reality, stood firm, and remained silent for a moment. Then he sighed and solemnly bowed to his wife, saying, "I have learned."

This sincere bow caused the gray qi above his head to dissipate, replaced by white qi, which became full and vibrant. A thread of green qi gradually rose, shining brightly. After a long period of silence, it finally emerged, showing joy and vitality. A point of green qi flew out and disappeared in an instant.

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